By Betsy Finklea
Plans for the Christmas season were discussed at the City of Dillon Merchants Association meeting on Wednesday at the new Visitors Center.
Among the activities planned are a Small Business Saturday and Market; a Christmas parade and tree lighting; a Snow, Smores, and Christmas Movie night; a Window Decorating Contest, Christmas Giving Trees, and Elf On A Shelf.
The first event, the Small Business Saturday and Market, will take place on Saturday, November 25th from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. This will be a 10 business passport trail, market in the fountain area, snow, Santa, and music.
The holiday window decorating contest will be held November 25th until December 21st. The public will be able to vote for their favorites.
The Giving Tree will support the Christmas giving of local non-profits. Christmas trees will be set up in the businesses, and customers will be able to donate items to these non-profits from November 25th-December 21st.
One of the highlights of the season is the annual Christmas Parade and City of Dillon Tree Lighting. This will be held on November 30th with the parade beginning at 4:30 p.m. and the tree lighting at 6:00 p.m. Santa is expected to be in the area so the kids will not want to miss this. The ribbon cutting for the new City of Dillon Visitors Center will be held at 11 a.m. that morning.
Elf On The Shelf is being sponsored by the Dillon Community Alliance. Be the first to find the elf in various locations and have the opportunity to earn Dillon dollars, which can be spent at downtown businesses. This will begin December 2nd and go through December 21st.
Snow, Smores & Christmas Movie Night will be held on Saturday, December 16th. This will be held in Lockemy Courtyard, beside the Dillon County Theatre. After enjoying snow and smores, come inside the Dillon County Theatre for a Christmas-themed movie. There will be plenty to do all throughout the season.
After discussion of the Christmas activities, Dillon Downtown Coordinator Lisa Moody spoke about the Paul Braun grant secured with Moody’s help by the Dillon Community Alliance. She said this will be a gamechanger for the downtown area. This is a $750,000 pass-through grant from the National Park Service to the DCA to business and building owners in the downtown historic district and any adjacent buildings put on the register.
Mayor Tally McColl gave an update on the streetscape. $1.25 million was received from the state for the project thanks to Rep. Jackie Hayes. $300,000 to $400,000 was spent taking up the planters and planning the design. He said they have a vision for Main Street from the courthouse to Pope’s Furniture and the side streets. They will do as much as they can with the funds available. He said there will be more green space and things that address safety issues. The plan is to start in the South Plaza fountain area and work out. He believes this will be more impactful.
Lisa Moody is working to make Dillon an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. She reported that the City had secured a $25,000 Hometown Economic Grant to do a market analysis.
Moody also reported that the uniform sign program has started and about seven of the 24 signs have been put up.
Ashley Phillips, Moody’s assistant, reported on Discover SC and her postcard campaign that highlights local businesses.